AfD projected to win Saxony-Anhalt regional election with 44.5% as CDU concedes defeat

The opposition right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is projected to win Sunday’s regional election in Germany’s Saxony-Anhalt with 44.5% of the vote, according to exit polls. The vote was marked by a high voter turnout, German media outlets have reported.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party is set to finish a poor second, securing just over 18% of the vote, preliminary data has indicated.

AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund has said the party is ready to “extend a hand to all democratic forces that wish to pursue better policies.”

AfD co-chair Alice Weidel did not rule out forming a coalition government in the eastern German region, including with Merz’s Christian Democrats, should the right-wing party fail to secure an absolute majority.

While the vote count is still underway in Saxony-Anhalt, Sven Schulze, the CDU lead candidate and the outgoing regional head, has conceded defeat, congratulating the AfD on its electoral success.

“That’s democracy,” Schulze said, adding that voters have sent a clear message which must be heeded, both at the regional and federal levels, as quoted by German media.

Schulze attributed his party’s poor showing to the unpopular policies pursued by the federal coalition government, which is comprised of the CDU and the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

SPD co-leader and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil similarly spoke of a “signal to Berlin,” insisting, however, on the continuation of the so-called ‘firewall’ policy, under which all major parties refuse to cooperate with the AfD.

AfD co-chair Tino Chrupalla said that the preliminary results of the Saxony-Anhalt regional elections have demonstrated that voters reject the controversial ‘firewall’ policy by ‘voting out’ the mainstream parties.

According to exit polls, the Left Party is projected to receive 9.4% of the vote, the Greens will win 8.9%, with the SPD in fourth place with 8.2%. While the regional Citizens’ Initiative for Saxony-Anhalt (BSW) party is projected to cross the 5% threshold, the neoliberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), which was part of the governing coalition in Saxony-Anhalt, will not make it to the regional legislature with only 2.1% of the vote, preliminary data indicates.

Over the past several months, opinion polls have consistently shown that the AfD is the most popular party nationwide, enjoying the support of 28% of respondents.

Having the largest opposition faction in the Bundestag, the right-wing party campaigns on an anti-immigration platform and is also highly critical of the German government’s support for Ukraine, as well as sanctions against Russia.

An INSA poll published by Bild in late August indicated that support for Germany’s governing Christian Democratic CDU/CSU bloc had fallen to 20%, with some 78% of respondents dissatisfied with Merz’s coalition government.